Portal:Lancashire

The Red Rose of Lancaster is the county flower of Lancashire, and a common symbol for the county.

Lancashire (/ˈlæŋkəʃər/ LAN-kə-shər, /-ʃɪər/ -⁠sheer; abbreviated Lancs.) is a ceremonial county in North West England. The administrative centre is Preston, while Lancaster is the county town. The borders of the ceremonial county were created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 and enclose a population of 1,449,300 and an area of 1,189 square miles (3,080 km²). However, the modern county is a smaller portion of the extent of the historic county palatine, which includes the cities of Manchester, Salford and Liverpool as well as the Furness and Cartmel peninsulas in the Lake District, and has an area of 1,909 square miles (4,940 km²). Many of these places still identify strongly with the county, particularly in areas of Greater Manchester (such as Oldham and Bury) where Lancashire is still used as part of the postal address. The population of Lancashire in the 1971 census (before local government changes) was 5,118,405, making it the most heavily populated county in the United Kingdom at the time (other than Greater London, which had only been created in 1965).

The history of Lancashire begins with its founding in the 12th century. In the Domesday Book of 1086, some of its lands were treated as part of Yorkshire. The land that lay between the Ribble and Mersey, Inter Ripam et Mersam, was included in the returns for Cheshire. When its boundaries were established, it bordered Cumberland, Westmorland, Yorkshire, and Cheshire. (Full article...)